Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean at the Grand Strand's Litchfield Beach © Jo Clark The Grand Strand is, well, grand! Sixty miles of sensational wide, sandy beaches. And enough shells, starfish, sand dollars, and shark teeth to delight serious beachcombers. Let’s look at the numbers: in those 60 miles, you find 14 communities, 11 beaches, 157,000 rooms, and 2,000 restaurants. Then there are...
The Blue Ridge Parkway crosses over Virginia's Route 8 atTuggle's Gap © Jo Clark When people hear the word travel, many think of driving somewhere, like a road trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway. But when people hear “National Park,” they don’t think of a highway. I’m about to change all that. Let me tell you about one of my favorite National Parks, managed by the National Park Service since 1936...
Writer, Jo Clark, on right and travel buddy Audrey Wagner, share their "love" for Rocky Mount When you roll into Rocky Mount, the largest Franklin County, Virginia town, be sure to come hungry and be ready for mountain music. And come prepared to do some serious whiskey tasting. You have just arrived in the Moonshine Capital of the World! The English, Germans, and Scots-Irish immigrants who came...
Buffalo Gals Connie and Carla run a herd of American Bison and the Buffalo and More restaurant. The popular eating place is on Route 8 in Riner, Virginia. Have you heard of it? You will know this shortcut through the mountains if you drive to Radford University or Virginia Tech in Blacksburg from the Blue Ridge Parkway, Martinsville, Floyd, Stuart, Ferrum, or Mt. Airy, North Carolina. Buffalo...
In the 1970s, hippies and artists moved to the unique funky town of Floyd, Virginia, to “live off the grid.” They made a great choice! This cute town is filled with historic buildings and sits on a magnificent Blue Ridge plateau in the mountains. Floyd holds a Yoga Jam, has a Friday Night Jamboree in the local country store, and, if you know where to look, hides a prohibition-style...